


Different Polarities

by majawek



Category: X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) - Fandom, X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Bitterness, Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Gen, Like Father like Daughter, Occasional fluff, Post Beach Divorce, Protective Erik, Redemption, Reunions, Romance, Secrets, Slightly Altered Timeline, Slow Build, Vietnam War, mature for language
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-18
Updated: 2014-06-26
Packaged: 2018-02-05 03:09:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,155
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1803148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/majawek/pseuds/majawek
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"At her best, she was charismatic and kind at heart. At her worst, she could be cruel, cynical, and utterly remorseless.</p><p>Just like her father."</p><p>Lorna Dane's place in the X-Men movies</p><p>*timeline slightly altered since there isn't really a clear one since XM:DOFP*</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, first chapter! I haven't written in quite a while and I've never posted to AO3, so this is a whole new experience for me. I hope you enjoy!

1963

"This is it." Alex grumbled, opening the car door and rubbing his hands together as he waited for Hank to help the Professor into his chair. He looked up at the building in front of him.

"St. Mary's Home for Orphans" said the weather-worn sign. Alex sighed as he walked around the car, following the Professor and Hank inside. They sat down in a room just off the main hallway and waited. Alex looked around, trying to distract himself from Charles and Hank's excited chatter. He was struggling to hide how bitter he was being here. After all this time, with all the power Charles had with Cerebro, how had they not found his own brother yet? He was a mutant, he knew that, but somehow this kid was more important than Scott. He leaned back in his chair with a scowl at the thought.

Alex stared up at the ceiling. He knew he couldn't blame them. After that day in Cuba, none of them had been the same. Charles and Hank had been wrapped up in their own studies, trying to forget the people they had lost on the beach. Sean had thrown himself into training along with Alex, seeking refuge in exercising their gifts. They had all been so absorbed in trying to forget that day that sometimes other things were forgotten as well.

Charles especially had dived into his work beginning his school, a self proclaimed sanctuary for young mutants. They had three students so far from all over the country; Jean Grey, a burdgeoning telepath, Bobby Drake, a cryokinetic, and Warren Worthington III, a boy with wings. This one would be the fourth addition to the so-called "second class". One that didn't have to deal with the loss of a teacher and a sister.

He sat back up twenty minutes later as one of the workers led a young girl into the room. She couldn't have been more than...fourteen?, Alex estimated. She pushed her large black framed glasses further up her nose, maintaining a neutral composure despite all the things Alex knew she had gone through. He had overheard Hank talking to the Professor about her, about her parent's deaths and whatever little information they could find in public records. Her bright green hair was tucked underneath a baseball cap, hastily and unevenly cut short. Probably done by the girl herself.

Alex looked at Charles and frowned when he saw that the Professor's smile had dimmed slightly at the sight of her.

Who was this girl?

\-----------------------------------------

Alex took it upon himself to keep an eye on the her when they got back to the mansion. The girl....Lorna, he reminded himself, had been given the room next to Jean in the west wing. At dinner, she sat quietly, only speaking to introduce herself and ask for Bobby to hand her the bowl of salad. She gave the boy a slight smile before beginning to eat. After dinner they all went into the living room to enjoy some much valued freetime. Sean sat behind the couch with Bobby and Jean, laughing and playing a board game while Hank and Warren watched the news. Alex sat on the floor and glanced between the program and Lorna who sat next to a bookshelf reading.

He watched her look up as the Professor rolled into the room and asked for her to join him in the study. She nodded and followed him out of the room. A few minutes later, a loud clanging could be heard and Alex dashed up the stairs at the sound. He ran up in time to hear a muffled apology. "I'm sorry Professor...I'm trying, it's just difficult when I think of ...them." Alex could practically see him shake his head sympathetically as he had done a million times while talking to him. "It isn't your fault Lorna...but I will need you to learn control. For the safety of the other students and for your own safety."

Alex shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away, feeling guilty for having thought she would hurt the professor. He sat back down on the floor of the living room and watched her walk back downstairs, looking miserable as she made her way past them and towards her room. Jean looked up and stood, walking alongside Lorna and trying to offer her comfort. The green haired girl smiled slightly as they continued to walk away. Alex shook his head. He had to keep an eye on her.

Because God knows what would happen if he didn't.

\------------------------------------------

November 22nd, 1963

Almost six months after Lorna's arrival, everybody in the house was huddled around the TV in the sitting room. Hank had run around the house in a panic, gathering everyone after turning on the news to see pure unadulterated chaos. Charles sat in his wheelchair next to the couch where Lorna, Bobby (who casually had one arm around the girl's shoulders as if he were smooth), and Warren sat. Hank and Alex stood while Jean clung to Sean with tears in her eyes. All of them, with the exception of the Professor and Lorna, had matching looks of horror and devastation on their faces.

They had just watched the President get shot.

By the man they had once called a friend. 

They watched Erik Lehnsherr get arrested and led away in concrete handcuffs, a look of thinly veiled regret on his own face. Charles was more focused on a reporter near the scene, while Lorna stared directly at Lehnsherr himself.

She threw Bobby's arm off her shoulders and ran out of the room, only Alex catching the look of fury that seemed strangely familiar to him. Charles followed after looking directly at Alex and shaking his head. His obsession with Lorna and her motives was not lost on him, and he didn't need his adopted son's interference this time around. Some secrets had to remain secrets for a reason.

He followed her outside to the lawn, watching her stop and turn to face him. "Why didn't you tell me?" she said, her voice cracking in rage and hurt. "How could you...how could you keep something like that from me?" Charles shook his head. "It wasn't the time. You lack the control to handle...."

"I can handle just enough, thank you very much!" Lorna yelled at him. Thankfully they were far enough away from the house that no one would hear.

Charles sighed. "You know you can't tell the others."

Lorna bit her lip and walked back over to him. She knew how the others would react should they find out. All the mistrust and hatred they felt towards Erik would be directed towards her. "I know...I just...I deserve an explanation."

"Indeed you do." the Professor nodded, looking at the infuriated girl for what she really was. At her best, she was charismatic and kind at heart. At her worst, she could be cruel, cynical, and utterly remorseless.

Just like her father.

\------------------------------------------

1964

"What even is your power?" Warren asked, eyeing the girl sitting next to him in the observation box of the newly constructed Danger Room. After the events of the assassination, Charles had made it a priority to teach them self control in a violent situation, just in case they found themselves challenged by the growing anti-Mutant movement.

Lorna groaned. "Is it any of your business, Worthington? I don't think so." she said, watching Bobby and Jean take out projectiles that were being launched at them while Alex and Hank fought dummies. Warren shrugged and turned his attention back to his classmates. "I just think we should all be honest with each other if we're ever going to be a real team." The girl next to him laughed. "You really think the Professor will let us fight what's out there? The X-Men are over, Warren, and they should stay that way. Lest we forget Cuba."

Warren grimaced at the thought. From what he had been told, it had been a less than fun experience. He shut up about it after that, figuring that she would tell them all when she was ready.

Lorna let out an inaudible sigh of relief.

She had been hiding her powers and her heritage from the others for almost a year now, only Hank and the Professor knowing the truth. Hank was told so that he could research her mutation and hopefully learn more about mutant genes as a whole. He had been very interested in the theories behind inherited powers, like Lorna and her father's metallokinesis. She had also been training in secret, learning the control she so desperately needed.

Lorna directed her attention back down at her teammates. She scrutinized their every move, picking apart their techniques and skills. She couldn't afford to be behind the class when her time came. Lorna had decided for herself that the day her father challenged her new family, she would use her powers to take him down. Put him down, if necessary.

She wouldn't, no, couldn't lose another family.

Never again.


	2. First "Love"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More moments in Lorna's life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! A couple of announcements before the story:  
> 1\. The next update may be pushed back a day due to Philadelphia Comic Con this weekend.  
> 2\. I've decided that this story will go past the events of DOFP to allow for more Lorna-Erik interaction.
> 
> That's it!
> 
> Thank you for your time and enjoy :)

Summer 1965

Lorna let out a rare chuckle as she watched Bobby and Warren race across the lawn. Warren was flying while Bobby was gliding on sheets of ice, showing off the new skills they had learned in training. "Stay still!" Jean said joyfully to the new girl whose hair she was currently weaving into a complicated braid. Apparently Charles and Hank had gone all the way to Africa to bring her here after tribal disputes over her powers. Lorna laid down on the ground, still watching the boys. She'd be stupid to think they weren't doing it to impress them, especially the new girl...Ororo, she reminded herself.

She turned as she heard a call from the house. "Time to come in!" Sean yelled out at them. "Dinner!"

Jean sighed, undoing the braid she had so meticulously worked on. "We'll finish this later." she said before leading Ororo back up to the house. Lorna began to follow before being stopped by a hand on her shoulder. "Hey." Bobby said breathlessly, smiling wildly. "Did you see that? I totally beat Warren, right?" 

Lorna smirked as she turned around. "Didn't keep track." she teased. At the look of severe disappointment on his face, she laughed and punched his arm. "I'm kidding, dumbass."

Bobby blushed, rubbing his arm. "Oh..." he mumbled, clearly embarassed. Lorna shook her head with a smile and resumed walking up to the mansion. "W-Wait!" he called out a few seconds later, running after her to catch up. 

\------------------------------------------

Fall 1965

"Hank!" Alex cried out as he ran inside the house, followed by an injured Sean and carrying a boy no older than fifteen. Everyone rushed into the room, wearing various looks of concern. "I told you that we would get him when things had settled down there..." Charles sighed. Alex looked up from his younger brother in a rage. "He could have died!" 

"Come on..." Hank said in a hushed tone. "Let's get him to the lab." Alex nodded and followed. 

Everyone began to disperse, with the exception of Jean bandaging up her "adopted" brother Sean right there in the foyer with a piece of fabric. Lorna ran after Alex a few moments later, knowing what had to be done to save Scott.

"Out of my way!" the green haired girl yelled through all the panicked confusion in the lab, rushing to Scott's side. "Don't remove the bullet, you'll damage his appendix with the procedure." She could feel the metal pressing against the organ and knew from her studies that there was no way to get it out surgically from that angle without causing damage. "There's not enough lead in it to poison his blood."

Alex fumed as everyone else backed off, Hank taking her word for it and beginning to dress the wound. "And how exactly do you know that?" He didn't need this girl risking his brother's life with her wild theories. 

Lorna looked up at him appraisingly, hiding her fear well. She stood and stared him down. "Because that's my gift, Alex." she said before walking out.

\------------------------------------------

Alex found her a few hours later out in the garden after Scott had been stabilized. She was sitting on one of the benches, head in her hands. He sighed and sat down next to her.

"You know what I'm going to ask."

"You could choose not to." she murmured. "You really don't want to know how fucked I am."

Alex laughed. "I think you're being a little melodramatic there, it can't be that bad." he said as Lorna looked up at him. 

"I have metallokinesis."

"...Oh." Alex sucked in a breath and took a moment before speaking again. "But you aren't, I mean, he isn't....You aren't related, right?" he asked, struggling on how to phrase his question.

Lorna laughed darkly. "I wish." 

\------------------------------------------

November 1965

"Calm." Charles' voice reached out in her mind as she tried to catch her breath. Lorna was in the Danger Room continuing her struggle for control over her powers. "I'm trying!" she yelled in the direction of the observation box, hurling a metal rod towards a dummy that was coming at her and striking it right through the center. 

"You will never gain control if you don't let go of your anger."

"Let go?!" Lorna turned to face the observation box, halting the simulation. "Professor, with all due respect, I was born with the right to be angry. Letting go was never an option." she said before walking out and slamming the door behind her, leaving her teacher with memories of an old friend who couldn't let go of his anger either.

\------------------------------------------

December 1965

Lorna didn't realize how bittersweet love could be until she met Bobby Drake. He was her antithesis, the light to her darkness. He made her see a happier world, albeit a more unrealistic one. A world that she wouldn't, shouldn't, pursue. 

So when Robert Louis Drake asked her out on Christmas Eve, suffice to say she was a little shocked. "Bobby..." she said softly, sitting next to him by the fireplace. "Lorna." he pleaded.

It was enough to break her heart. And just enough for her to say yes. She leaned in and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "Okay."

....

Alex Summers stood by the door and didn't say a word. 

\------------------------------------------

February 1966

Laughter filled the dining room as Sean carried in a large cake and set it on the table. Jean clasped her hands together in joy at the sight of it. "You all are amazing." she said, wiping away a tear, looking around at her makeshift family. She blushed slightly at seeing Scott smiling back at her and turned her attention back to her cake.

Bobby squeezed Lorna's hand underneath the table and she smiled shyly. He made her happy and maybe it wasn't exactly love, but it was good enough for her, she thought to herself.

After dinner everyone retired to the sitting room to talk and watch Jean open her presents. Alex stood off to the side with Hank, alternating between watching Jean and watching Lorna. He watched her smile brightly as Jean opened her gifts, watched her soak in the moment of happiness as if it were her last. He had been watching her for so long, making sure she didn't hurt anyone he cared about that he had crossed a line between attentiveness and actually caring without knowing.

He knew she had been dealt a bad hand in life and he knew that all she cared about was keeping her second chance at a family safe. 

She deserved to be happy.

He wanted her to be happy.

So why was he so upset that Bobby was the one who was doing that for her?

\------------------------------------------

June 1966

The first time the second class heard the phrase "Mutant and Proud" was when a long lost family member paid a visit to the mansion. Mystique, a well known member of Erik's Brotherhood of Mutants, strolled into their home one day like she owned the place. Alex and Sean held Bobby and Warren back while Jean grabbed Scott's arm to stop him from lunging at her. Hank greeted her at the top of the steps with a solemn look and led her to the Professor's study without a word. 

Lorna stood next to Ororo in silence, glaring at Mystique from the second she entered the building. They remained there, silently standing vigil just in case Charles needed them. An hour later, Mystique left the study, followed by the Professor. She stopped in the middle of the foyer and looked around at them. She seemed almost....regretful that she stood on the opposite side of the sand from them. 

"The time is coming when we will all need to stand together." she said, addressing them all in a commanding manner. "Us against them." The girl formerly known as Raven turned her attention directly to Hank who returned her gaze with an icy stare. "Remember....Mutant and Proud." she said before glancing once more at Charles and walking out.

"...Good riddance." Ororo mumbled under her breath as Sean closed and locked the door after her.

\------------------------------------------

That night, Charles couldn't sleep. He had nights like this every few days, too lost in his regrets from that day in Cuba to rest. This night was different, however, because it wasn't his thoughts, but a person that kept him awake. He heard a knocking on his door and groggily told his visitor to come in, getting into his wheelchair and rolling over to his desk. 

Lorna walked in with circles underneath her eyes and sat down in the seat across from him. "Professor...I don't think..." she fumbled over her words. "Yes, Lorna?"

"I don't think I belong here."

"And why is that?"

Lorna looked down at her hands. "Something's wrong with me, I can't......I'm just so angry." she said softly. "Sometimes I justify it by saying that I'm angry at him, but that's not it. I'm angry at myself. I'm angry because I'm everything I despise. I'm selfish and overly emotional and so strange that I'm not even normal in a group of mutants." she paused for a moment. "Worst of all, I...I think I'm becoming just like him."

Charles sighed, feeling the fear roll off of the girl in waves. "That's the exact reason why you have to be here, Lorna. It's the exact reason why you were brought here in the first place."

"What do you mean?" Lorna asked, confused as to what he meant.

"Erik lacked...a foundation. A moral compass. He allowed his anger and his quest for revenge to govern his actions and cloud his judgement. When he had finally found his way here, he was so set in his ways that nothing could steer him off his path. I'm not saying he didn't have reasons for what he did and noble intentions, but it still wasn't without consequence. You, Lorna, are not him. You have a moral compass, you know right from wrong. I surely hope your time here has at least taught you that mass genocide is not the answer to protecting the people you care about." he chuckled darkly. "That, at the very least, stops you from becoming like him. You may be angry and you may lose control, but you will never allow that to be an excuse to hurt innocent people like he did." 

Lorna took a moment before nodding, deep in thought. "...Thank you Professor." she said quietly before leaving the room. "You're very welcome Lorna." Charles said in return.

\------------------------------------------

Six months later, Alex announced at dinner that he was enlisting in the army.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Feedback is appreciated so that I can continue to improve this story. Update should be on the 22nd or the 23rd depending on how busy I am this weekend. Bye!  
> -majawk


	3. Beginning of the End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody! A few announcements before we begin:  
> 1\. Warning for strong language  
> 2\. Lots of romance in this chapter  
> 3\. Update after this will be on the 26th of June  
> Thank you for your time and enjoy!

February 1967

"Why?" asked Scott petulantly. For a seventeen year old, he was acting remarkably like a child. Alex sighed, "Scott, it's not like I'm leaving and never coming back. Plus I'm not leaving for another six months, so relax." he said, trying to circumvent his brother's question. Scott grumbled and stalked off, clearly hurt by the obvious deflection. He passed Lorna on his way out who was leaning on the door frame and staring unabashedly at Alex.

The older boy had his head in his hands. "Why does everybody think I'm never coming back?"

"Because you think so too." Lorna said as she walked into the room and sat down next to him. "So I think you need to cut the shit, because we both know you're not doing this out of some unfulfilled sense of duty. I've known you too long to be fooled by that act."

Alex groaned. "It's that obvious?"

The girl next to him laughed. "No, but I know you Alex. I don't gloss over all your flaws like the others do. You're not noble enough to rush into a war we're losing just because it's your "duty". You're also way too smart for that shit." she smirked. "So how about you tell me the real reason you're leaving?"

Alex shifted uncomfortably where he sat. He didn't do talks like this well, and he knew he was walking on thin ice talking about this with the girl who was part of his reason for leaving. 

"It's too crowded here, I feel like everywhere I go somebody's there, around every corner there's somebody who wants something from me." he said, trying to skip over the part where she was haunting him no matter where he hid in the palatial estate. Even now he couldn't even look at her, with her mouth poised to shift into it's natural smirk and a dormant fire behind her eyes. 

"I'm just better off alone."

"Well that's a load of bullshit."

"What do you want me to say, Lorna?" he asked, exasperated. 

"I want you to tell me the damn truth, Alex."

Alex rolled his eyes, giving up and turning to face her. "Fine. I'm a deadman walking anyway." he said before leaning in and kissing her soundly. Lorna froze, eyes widening before relaxing into it, eventually kissing back even though every single bone in her body was telling her it was wrong. Alex ended up being the first to pull away, looking at her and analyzing her reaction. "I had to at least do it once." he said as he stood up. He leaned down to kiss her once more on the forehead. "I'm sorry Lorna." he said before walking out and leaving her sitting there dumbfounded.

Lorna Dane didn't like surprises, but that self destructive part of her she used to think she could ignore?

It liked that surprise.

\------------------------------------------

March 1967

It had been a month. They hadn't spoken since that afternoon, choosing their mutual favorite tactic when dealing with a difficult situation: Denial. Lorna went back to Bobby and Alex went back to his flavors of the week that he occupied himself with. 

It was only until Alex caught Bobby with Lorna pushed up against the wall in the library that the plan finally fell apart.

He coughed loudly and the two jolted, shocked into backing away from each other. "S-Sorry Alex." Bobby said, smiling sheepishly, trying to catch his breath. Lorna remained silent as she glared daggers at Alex. She wasn't as naive as her boyfriend. She could tell that he was jealous even if she didn't know how he felt. 

Alex rose an eyebrow at her as he tried to play it off as a minor annoyance. He shook his head as her gaze didn't relent, walking away. 

"So...where were we?" Bobby smirked, leaning in to kiss her before she backed up, putting her hand in front of his face. "Not now." she sighed, kissing him on the cheek before walking off frustratedly.

She didn't need this. She didn't need Alex fucking Summers to start something that could make her life here at the mansion hell.

She slammed the door to her room closed and punched the wall, leaving a sizable hole in it. Thankfully Lorna had her powers under enough control that her anger wasn't causing everything around her that was metal to shift densities into puddles like it had in the past.

He had always been cold to her, never accepting her as openly as the others had. She knew he had been watching her and she knew she couldn't blame him for it. Her hidden powers were still a point of contention even after all this time and as that time went on, she even began to appreciate it, find comfort in it. She knew Alex would be the only one able to shut her down if she came close to hurting the people she loved with her anger. 

Lorna groaned and flopped on her bed. He had been her safeguard and now he was the one giving her the tools to destroy everything she had.

And she wasn't sure she was strong enough not to use them.

\------------------------------------------

Alex was in his room as well, staring at the ceiling, bored out of his mind. He had gotten used to the jealousy that accompanied seeing Lorna and Bobby everywhere they went, but it still stung to see him with his hands all over the girl he wanted. The girl who to the best of his knowledge actively hated him.

Which made it even more of a surprise when she showed up at his door looking absolutely defeated.

"Lorna..." he said softly, sitting up as she walked towards him. He had been wrong. She wasn't defeated. Her eyes held that determined fire she had inherited from her father. "I'm done trying to be something I'm not." she murmured as she pulled him to his feet by his collar, staring into his eyes. "I can't...I can't keep pretending I'm meant for this life. I can't keep pretending I belong in this fairy tale he's imagined for me. So please," she said, almost begging him. "Help me be myself."

He didn't need any more encouragement to lean down and press his lips to hers. Let me be the one, he thought to himself as he tangled his fingers in her fluorescent hair. Let me be the one who makes you happy, not him. He felt her cling to him, clutching his t-shirt in her hands as she kissed him back with an intensity he hadn't felt when he had kissed her before. 

Lorna allowed herself be lost in him, letting him help her forget about Bobby and Erik and her parents. All she could think about was how right it felt in his arms.

Needless to say, Lorna didn't find her way back to her room that night.

\------------------------------------------

The next six months were both heaven and hell. Often nights Alex would find Lorna in his bed waiting for him. They spent their days avoiding each other, Lorna keeping up her charade of a loving relationship and Alex putting all his energy into training. 

Alex would sometimes catch them together and Lorna would get a glance of disappointment, but all of that was swept under the rug once night rolled around. "When you get back, then we can try." Lorna halfheartedly promised him at every opportunity, knowing full well that neither of them saw him coming back. 

She also promised him that she would try to end things with Bobby, but old habits died hard. She had spent the last two years of her life with him and the feeling of comfort and security he gave her was a lot to give up. As to why Alex put up with that for so long, he would never say.

She never did end up breaking up with him before their affair was over. That decision would end up haunting her for the rest of her life.

\------------------------------------------

August 27th, 1968

That morning, they all went to the airport to see Alex off to basic training. Lorna watched as he hugged his little brother fiercely, making Scott promise to take care of them while he was gone, to which Scott stoically nodded. He didn't want to cry in front of Jean. 

He went around and said his goodbyes to all of them, shaking the Professor's hand and punching Hank in the shoulder. "Thanks." he said with his cocky smirk. "For everything." The Professor nodded sadly. "Good luck, Alex."

After they had all said their goodbyes, Lorna lingered behind, telling Bobby to go on ahead. Once he had disappeared from sight, she launched herself at Alex, hugging him tightly and willing herself not to cry. "Don't fucking die, Summers." she whispered in his ear. The past six months had made them closer than she had ever been to another human being in her entire life. 

"I won't." Alex murmured, holding her tight and kissing her on the forehead. "I promise." Someone in the distance yelled for Alex to hurry up to which Alex sighed, leaning in to kiss her quickly. "I'll be back." he said before running off to catch his flight, leaving Lorna standing there alone.

As soon as Alex boarded that plane, everything began to fall apart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Once again, update will be on the 26th and feedback is always appreciated so I can continue to make this story the best it can be!  
> Bye!  
> -majawk


	4. Descent

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! A little bit of a late update, but as usual, a few announcements before we begin...  
> 1\. This chapter may be a bit choppy considering it's covering a large span of time  
> 2\. A major timeskip (two years) will be occuring later in the chapter
> 
> And that's it! Enjoy!

November 1967

Two months after Alex left, the guilt was eating away at Lorna without him there to mask its effects. She couldn't keep pretending that Bobby was the one for her when the person she really cared about was God knows where fighting in a pointless war.

So she sat Bobby down one day, sitting on the porch across from him. He wasn't that oblivious, despite not seeing the signs of his girlfriend having an affair with someone else for several months. He reached his hand across the space between them to rest on hers, but Lorna pulled away. "What's wrong?" he asked sadly. Maybe he did know, she thought to herself. He didn't seem that struck by her motion of rejection, almost as if he had been expecting it.

Bobby sighed and ran his hand through his hair, speaking first. "I mean, I should have known this would have to happen eventually."

So he did know.

"It's fine Lorna. Honestly, I'm surprised we lasted this long." he scoffed. He wasn't going to forgive that easily. "Like I didn't notice you sneaking out every night. It didn't take too long to connect the dots." He said as he stood, looking down at her. 

"Bobby...." she said softly, aching to explain things that he clearly already understood. To break up with him the right way.

"Good luck. You two deserve each other." With that, Bobby Drake walked off and didn't look back at the girl who had put him through hell and back.

\------------------------------------------

June 1968

The first half of 1968 was the calm before the storm. 

Lorna spent most of her time training, drowning her sorrow in learning fighting maneuvers and basic strategy. It helped dull the ache, but didn't ever make it go away. She had hurt two people that she cared about greatly and it was nigh impossible to forgive herself for that. Most of her classmates had begun to avoid her since the breakup anyway, finding out about the affair through Bobby. 

From a distance, she watched their little family begin to fall apart, each one of them falling through the cracks in their fragile home, starting with Warren. 

They had all heard rumors of an upcoming draft, but as the rumors became more and more like fact, they were all starting to get worried. Warren was the first to take action.

One night, he up and packed his bags in the middle of the night. He left a note on his bedside table telling them he was going home. He thought his father, with all of his influence in high places would be able to keep him from being drafted. 

No one really talked about his absence after he was gone, but they could all see their loss reflected on the Professor's face. His dream was falling apart right in front of his eyes.

\------------------------------------------

August 1968

Jean and Ororo were accepted to a college halfway across the country and Scott followed them (Jean) there. No one made any move to try to stop them. 

\------------------------------------------

January 1969

Of the five of them that remained, two more were lost to the war. A week after New Year's, two letters arrived at the mansion addressed to Sean Cassidy and Robert Drake. With solemn expressions, they opened them and read to themselves what might as well have been a death notice. 

They packed their bags the next day and were seen off by a nearly broken Charles Xavier and a Hank McCoy who was barely holding it together as it was. Lorna stood out of the way, knowing she was the last person Bobby would want to see before he went off into the unknown. 

They said their brief goodbyes and went their seperate ways, what was once a family now down to three. 

\------------------------------------------

November 1969

After almost a year of watching Charles and Hank devolve into little more than drug addicts, Lorna walked out the door one day. What was strange though, Hank noted, was that she brought nothing with her. None of her belongings, no clothes, money, absolutely nothing. 

Hank watched the security tape over and over as he prepared his and Charles' cures, puzzling over her strange disappearance. Her face on camera seemed serene, but as he continued to look at it, he began to notice something. Something utterly bizarre considering he had never seen it before.

Lorna was crying. 

\------------------------------------------

Two years later....

"Lara Eisenhardt." she mumbled her fake name to the clerk at the front desk, showing her the fake ID. "My father has a suite here and I forgot to get a key." The clerk nodded and handed her a key without much trouble, only asking for a bit of money in return.

"Lara" took the key and looked at the room number. Room 1C. She walked down the hall from the front desk and slowly unlocked the door. She opened it and looked inside cautiously, noticing right away that her father wasn't there. She groaned and laid down on the bed. "And there goes my last chance..." she said before bolting upright at the sound of the door opening. 

Lorna could feel the metal objects hovering above her.

"And who the hell are you?"

\------------------------------------------

Three days earlier....

"Dane!" Lorna heard her name yelled through the concrete door. She looked up from the floor, gazing steadily from her cot at the person walking inside her glorified cell. "What the fuck do you want, Stryker?" she said icily as the guards outside closed and locked the door behind him.

William Stryker was the man in charge here, the bigoted man responsible for her imprisonment here in this military facility. "I just need to ask you a few questions." he said tiredly, sitting on the other side of a folding table in front of her. "And then we can see about your release."

Lorna sighed and went to sit across from him. "Fine, I'll play along. What do you want?"

"The U.S. Government is willing to grant your freedom based on your show of loyalty over the past two years."

"That can't be the only reason, what's the catch?"

"We need you to bring somebody in."

Lorna's interest was piqued. "And who is that?" she smirked.

Stryker shook his head. "Not yet. Now, for a few prerequisites. Do you know why you're here?" he rattled off the paper in front of him.

"Charles Xavier reported to the government that I was out of his control when I was fifteen. He thought he would need assistance containing me." she said through gritted teeth. It was still a sore subject after all this time.

"What is your formal training?"

"Six and a half years of private training and two years of military." 

"Do you have a criminal record?"

Lorna laughed caustically. "No. Come on Stryker, get to the fun stuff. Out of everyone you could have gone to, why are you coming to me to hunt down a fugitive?"

Stryker sighed and slid a file across the table. "We wouldn't be if we didn't have to. Two days ago, a prisoner escaped. We have his accomplices in custody." he said, showing her pictures of two women and a red skinned man. "He was last seen in Germany and if we send in one of our operatives, it'll be an international incident. We want this done quietly and we've managed to keep it that way so far." 

"You'll be going in under the name Lara Eisenhardt, everything you need is in that folder." he said before sitting back and observing her reaction thus far. Lorna was still set in her nearly permanent smirk. "You still haven't told me who my target is."

"Magneto." Stryker said before standing up and walking out of the room. "You leave in 12 hours."

Lorna's smirk had disappeared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Update will be on the 29th and as always, feedback and constructive criticism is always appreciated!  
> Bye!  
> -majawk


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